The world's most famous tierseur is also its least respected. In the market ecology of tierseurs, the Modeste's niche is to be the pariah, the untouchable, the one that all other customers sniff their noses at. The Modeste exists as a designated inferior for all others in the industry to be better than in every way. It also exists because a valid market niche exists for such a device.
Before 1895, the tierseureries coexisted in peace. Oh, there was drama between the tierseureurs - what artistic medium isn't without its petty feuds and legendary rivalries? - but the industry, such as it was, was governed by a rigid unspoken code of honor. Each tierseurerie was distinct, and they made a point of not stepping on each other's toes.
In 1895, Innocent Cauvigne et Cie. introduced their own interpretation of the tierseur. No sooner had the first order been shipped than the Calais firm was buried under a dozen lawsuits from outraged tierseureries, each and all striving to destroy the upstart.
The unspoken reason for these lawsuits was that Cauvigne's product was an offense against that code of honor. Everything about it - the proprietary cartridge it chambered, made by another studio [who?]; its minimal and standardized decorations, making the guns not only affordable but generic; the total lack of custom tailoring that was offered - was a slap in the face of every tenet of the tierseureur's unspoken honor.
It was an abomination. It had to be destroyed.
What saved Cauvigne from that destruction was a royal warrant. That, and a name for their product: Modeste. Every tierseur has a statement to make; the Modeste, that despite its large-scale production it was never meant to be a challenger. Innocent Cauvigne is no private shop, but the official supplier of French colonial game wardens; theirs is not to build masterpieces but serviceable tools.
This is a stub. It will be expanded upon.
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